Verse 44. And the evils of self-love which lie latent in such a state rush out upon and overflow the soul with falses derived from evil, destroying all that was celestial and spiritual in the natural good in which it had trusted, so that the soul is reduced to despair. [Note.—There is an allusion here in the simile to wasps, which endeavour to take the honey from the hive and are chased and driven away by bees. So the natural unregenerate heart would desire the joys of heaven without the labours necessary to attain them, and finds that joy on such terms brings a sting with it.]